Thread: Accuracy > Power

This aformentioned statement that I came up with is the root of my "philosophy" for the Pokémon games, as well as any RPG that I've played. What I'm stating with this is that, even if you've got some of the most powerful moves/weaponry that you can muster, none of that power is going to matter a single bit if you can't even hit your opponent. Thus, I always look at the accuracy stat for each move before its power, as more often than not, I end up having some of the worst luck that this world can send against me, & if I can't hit the enemy, I might as well throw in the towel.

This is why I disdain the use of those moves with ~120 BP & has an accuracy stat that's less than 100, especially if my opponent spams DT/Minimize. I also despise the Pokémon that have the Hustle ability, as I find the accuracy cut to be sickening, & combine it with those aformentioned moves, the hit rate becomes downright unacceptable in my book.

So, what do you people think of my "Accuracy > Power" philosophy?

I agree with you.
When I play Pokemon I try to have equal accuracy and power, but sometimes I do use the accuracy> power

I learned to just deal with it. If the stronger moves with shit accuracy hit, they are far more rewarding thus I will use them.

Sometimes good choices aren't necessarily safe ones. If your opponent sends out a big and mean Pokemon, and all you've got is a low-accuracy move that can take that thing out, then for the love of all things holy, take the risk and use it.

That being said, sometimes moves with low accuracy can be terrible. Honestly, the scale can tip either way. It just depends on the given situation.

Usually, if a move has less than 85% accuracy, I won't use it. Most moves I use have a 100% accuracy. The only moves on my current team that has less than 85% accuracy are Will-o-Wisp and Head Smash.

Originally Posted by Sublime

I learned to just deal with it. If the stronger moves with shit accuracy hit, they are far more rewarding thus I will use them.

Originally Posted by Ombrare

Sometimes good choices aren't necessarily safe ones. If your opponent sends out a big and mean Pokemon, and all you've got is a low-accuracy move that can take that thing out, then for the love of all things holy, take the risk and use it.

That being said, sometimes moves with low accuracy can be terrible. Honestly, the scale can tip either way. It just depends on the given situation.

I take it that the both of you are risk-takers, hmm?

There are some people that aren't risk-takers, such as myself. My philosophy is practically aimed towards those people who have such rotting luck that the use of such moves has become unfeasable as a means of taking down your opponent. Hell, there are a few occasions in which I've missed ~7 times consecutively in a fight, & as a result either myself, or one of my cohorts ends up dead. It's these times in which I feel that my Dead Man's Curse (which I don't know if anybody besides myself believe in such a thing) has the strength of friggin' demigods. So, in the hopes that such a thing will never happen, I always opt for moves that have pinpoint accuracy.

If this isn't your bowl of soup, hey, I'm not going to jam all this down your throat; if you people think that taking risks floats your boat, then I can't tell you to stop, as you people have got better luck than I do...

Aura Sphere FTW

You can't really claim this is your philosophy. People have generally always preferred 100% accuracy attacks to high-power low-accuracy ones, the elemental attacks (Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt to Fire Blast, Blizzard, and Thunder) being the most common comparisons.

Part of the fun of pokemon is me being able to shout "DIE!" when using overkill-powerful moves, so I use the less accurate ones.

But think of it this way: Imagine your pokemon is an Aerodactyl and your opponent's is a Gyarados.

Here you have two choices. You can use either Rock Slide or Stone Edge.

Now, Rock Slide will always hit, but it can't quite get the kill on Gyarados and you will die to its Waterfall attack. 0% chance to win.

Stone Edge, on the other hand, is strong enough to kill Gyarados, but has shaky accuracy. You have an 80% chance to win and a 20% chance to miss and get killed, as opposed to always getting killed.

So for pokemon that don't have massive attacking stats: Power > accuracy

Originally Posted by Taio

Usually, if a move has less than 85% accuracy, I won't use it. Most moves I use have a 100% accuracy. The only moves on my current team that has less than 85% accuracy are Will-o-Wisp and Head Smash.

I'm definitely a bigger risk-taker than you must be than.
For me, if the move has an accuracy less than 70, no thanks.

That's why I avoid moves like Sheer Cold/Guillotine/Fissure (No base power (OHKO), accuracy of only 30) and Zap Cannon (150(?) base power, but only with an accuracy of 50 I believe?)

It all depends on how you are using that Pokemon. If you need it to be hard hitting killer, giving it those high power low accuracy moves is a good idea. However, if you need that pokemon ti stay in battle for a while and be steady counter to other stuff, then use the more dependable moves.

Originally Posted by Karpi

Now, Rock Slide will always hit, but it can't quite get the kill on Gyarados and you will die to its Waterfall attack. 0% chance to win.

This is bad example as Rock Type moves generally suck despite their absolute neccessity. Rock Slide won't always hit since it doesn't have perfect accuracy. But we are stuck with using Stone Edge even with its shaky accuracy until GF gives us a better move.

I definitely take Accuracy over Power. D8; The whole tide of the battle relies on moves hitting their mark. If ONE MOVE should miss, your fate is spelled out to say "you're doomed!". The loss of power is much better than the frustration that comes with using a low-accuracy move and getting mad when it misses.

Since playing in the Battle Tower I’ve developed a love for accurate moves. Admittedly, they’re a necessity in that setting, because everything in twisted in the CPU’s favour, but I think it’s extended into normal gameplay, too. Moves with a base power of 90 and 100% accuracy have the perfect balance IMO – no drawbacks to using them, they have a sufficient amount of PP, and they still deal some pretty decent damage. There is nothing more frustrating than having a move miss at the most crucial time. They may not have the “KERBLOW” factor of Thunder, Draco Meteor (yep, I’m even reluctant with that one), Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, or Blizzard, but given how flawlessly they’re dealt, they’re still satisfying to use.

In-game, I don't really care too much about accuracy unless it's below 70%. I can be cheap and reset my game if two Fire Blasts miss consecutively. Plus there's options out there, such as using Aerial Ace on Hustle Pokémon or Claw Sharpen.

Competitively, I try to tie it at 80% minimum. I don't mind a miss from Stone Edge sometimes if it will get me the kill over Rock Slide most of the time.

A rather nerd way I use to rate a move's value is multiplicating power for probability to hit (in other words, accuracy). Example: Blizzard/Thunder/Fire Blast: They have a 70% accuracy, so I multiply 120 x 0,7, which results in 84. That means Ice Beam/Thunderbolt/Flamethrower are indeed better moves. Hydropump gets 80% accuracy, the result is 96, barely different to much more useful Surf.

An exception for me is Focus Blast. While having the same power and accuracy as Blizzard and variations, most Fighting moves that could overcome it are rather exclusive to certain Pokémon (Aura Sphere, Cross Chop, [Hi] Jump Kick), or get drawbacks (Superpower, Close Combat). So I use Focus Blast when I don't get Aura Sphere.